In the process, and in the rush to wage a unilateral and preemptive war in Iraq, Bolton and his administration allies have burned most of the international goodwill that the United States built up before and after Sept. 11. The enemy of a vast and growing percentage of the world, the United States remains virtually alone in Iraq; reports of American soldiers killed in ambushes are now as routine in the news as reports on the stock market. It doesn't help that the administration lied about some of the intelligence that served as a prime justification for the war.

Or that Bolton seems interested in possibly taking the war a step further. Soon after Baghdad fell, Bolton said, in his usual, measured way, "We are hoping that the elimination of the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein and the elimination of all of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction would be important lessons to other countries in the region, particularly Syria, Libya and Iran, that the cost of their pursuit of weapons of mass destruction is potentially quite high." Bolton's specialty seems to have been the ability to build small bridges that enable him and his allies to destroy big ones. While personally agreeable, he has helped created the policies that have made much of the rest of the world see the United States as an international bully. By forging ties between the hawks in the Defense Department and the White House with the State Department, Bolton has helped to undercut the main government entity supportive of international engagement. By helping to build a relationship between Republican foot soldiers and the neocons, Bolton has helped sever ties between the United States and the rest of the world.

In a less dramatic way, Bolton's success parallels that which Helms sees at the battle of Armageddon: the forces of good trampling the forces of evil as the seven angels blow their seven trumpets and everything else gets razed. The trouble is that, despite his pleasant demeanor and level-headedness, Bolton's definition of evil seems rather large -- encompassing not just the standard axis but also, for example, the International Criminal Court's efforts to track down war criminals or genocidaires.

There's a chance that Bolton's worldview will ultimately turn out to have been a successful one: Taking a hard line may bring peace and security to the Korean peninsula and the Middle East, along with a long-term world order where America remains so strong and safe that it has no need for international law.

Unfortunately, power has a tendency to ebb and flow. Moreover, despite the removal of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein's vicious regime, it's hard to see the world as a better place than it was when Bolton and his colleagues began their project.

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